Have you considered buying the size/style you want and painting it yourself? You would be amazed at the variety of spray paints available these days and the terrific look they can provide with minimal effort/talent. Hunter green is a common color and at a well stocked hardware store you can probably find one that sprays on with multiple tones of hunter green if you want that. Flat finishes, super shiny finishes and in-between.

Hi Sam, local garden center -- definitely *not* the way to go. Been there, done that. They're not into the passion, the science; they're into making enough money over mother's day weekend to pay the rent and stay solvent. Happy to hear that you're going to work some with Bob. I'll be helping out there myself over grafting season and look forward to working and learning with you. If I were young and had your ambition toward the art of conifer development, I'd definitely move to Oregon and try to latch onto either Iseli or Buchholz. They seem to be hitting the sweet spot in the industry right now. Another good prospect would be with Bizon or Boyko nursies. They're a bit smaller, but are also on the cutting edge. Keep in mind that your ambition is one that will never make you a lot of money. One thing that I've realized over the years is that the best way to burn out on a fun hobby is to try to earn a living doing it. Tread lightly, my friend. good luck! ~Dave

Ok, what is it with these plants - more often than not, I see a nice photo of a beautiful evergreen and it takes my breath away! I'm liking the looks of Chamaecyparis nootkatensis 'glauca pendula'. It doesn't look particularly blue in the photos I've seen. Any thoughts on how it will look next to this pyramidalis stuff? Gosh I would love to get rid of those (they don't take my breath away!). The textures seem like they could be too similar. Green arrow is probably a bit too narrow - but maybe it is just because I am seeing pictures of juvenile plants? I will definitely have some mini conifers in the area in front of the house. I have been known to leave the nursery with those cute little ones that fit great in a winter pot (but get quickly buried in a summer pot). Maybe someday my 6" dwarf hinoki nana lutea will be big enough to go in the garden... I saw a Picea Omorika "Riverside" a few weeks ago. It was a nice tree, but it looks like the spread is up to 15, which might be a bit much for me. A lady I was talking to at the nursery said she really likes the Vanderwolf Limber Pine. It was a very soft tree, 15-20 high x 8-10 wide the tag said. I've been looking for pictures of some of the cedrus deodar narrow forms - in particular, quiksilver was one I read about but haven't seen anywhere. What about cedrus atlantica's here in the PNW? Do they do ok? I see the weeping blue atlas cedar everywhere, but fastigiata looks interesting... So, I have to laugh about the "how to move a rhody" discussion. I have never been "gentle" to them when moving them. I stick that shovel in wherever I can get it through the roots and then lever them out and drag them across the yard by whatever means I can to a better spot. I started out moving them in the fall or spring, but have done a couple in the height of summer. I swear you can't kill those things here. One of them blew over in an ice/wind storm while I was out of town and was sideways for a couple weeks before being put back in the ground. It didn't even blink. I have to believe there are people in the PNW that consider them weeds they are so tough! And I love them for that!

akgirl, I LOVE potatoes in nearly any way possible. However, I also have a huge texture issue with some things and the skin on a microwaved baked potato is one of those things. I'll peel it off and throw it away, but I'm not eating it, it's kind of papery and odd and the potato isn't dry and fluffy, it's gummy and moist. it's actually good when making American Fries, I always peel the skin off and the chunks of potato stay firm/moist enough to stand up to browning in a frying pan. I love those potato skins all covered with cheese, maybe some chili, you know, those wedges of potato? The skins have got to be crispy/crunchy, though. The peels are my favorite part of a baked potato, my youngest daughter used to eat the middle of both of our potatoes (covered in A1 sauce, no less) and I'd eat the skin, buttered with salt and pepper. Annie